NOIDA: A week after toll for the DND flyway was increased, the threat of huge protests has forced the operator to roll back the hike from the midnight of November 18. The announcement did not succeed in placating Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), who threatened to go ahead with their protest on Sunday for forcing the operators to give commuters a free passage. BKU said they don't trust the operator and will not cancel the stir until they have details of the rollback in writing.

The district administration has made special arrangements to prevent any inconvenience to commuters on Sunday. BKU and Federation of Noida Resident Welfare Association ( FONRWA) had threatened to launch large-scale protests from Sunday against the toll hike.

District magistrate M K S Sundaram held a meeting with the Noida Authority officials on Friday and asked the operator for a rollback to avoid any law-and-order problems.

The Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL) had implemented the hike in toll charges on Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) toll bridge from November 10. Four-wheelers had to pay Rs 25 instead of Rs 22, while two-wheelers were being charged Rs 12 instead of Rs 11. According to an official, the toll was increased in keeping with the agreement with the government.

"Since some factions have registered their protest against the toll hike with the Noida Authority and the UP government, the matter is being discussed. Until the issue is sorted out, it has been agreed that the toll increase is suspended from midnight of November 18," said a spokesperson from NTBCL.

Meanwhile, BKU told TOI that they will converge in thousands and continue their protest on the flyway as planned. "We want the NTBCL officials to give us in writing that they will make the road toll-free to provide smooth access to thousands of commuters," said Ajay Pal Sharma, the district president of BKU. The DM has directed police to deploy additional security forces to avoid any untoward incident on the flyway.